Jessica Wilson will be turning 10 on Sep. 13. This young Frostproof girl loves science and math, though she often struggles with reading comprehension. She loves the outdoors, and she especially loves exploring it on an ATV. She also loves to dance, having been a member of Studio 6 in Lake Wales up until last year.
Sadly, young Jessica has been struggling with a rare kidney disease that requires her to have her kidneys removed and receive a transplant. While her case is treatable (but not curable), it does require her to visit the hospital often and consume a low-sodium diet. Not to mention that her grandmother, Michelle, who has been raising her since 2015, needs to take off work to look after her.
For that reason, her family is seeking assistance from anyone willing to offer it. Her grandmother currently has a fundraiser for Jessica, as well as a CashApp account. Jessica is also a lucky Make-A-Wish kid who will be enjoying a trip to Walt Disney World in the near future.
Michelle has been raising Jessica and her sister Melissa since 2015. Shortly after, Jessica was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerular Sclerosis (FSGS), a rare disease that causes the kidneys to attack themselves.
Jessica was diagnosed a year and a half since 2015. She had gone into remission a year and a half later and was placed on a low-sodium diet until last year. Since then, she experienced quite a few relapses and was hospitalized several times. In December, she contracted pneumonia with fluid in her left lung. She was hospitalized at Arnold Palmer in Orlando for ten days.
“Seven of those ten days were spent in the CICU unit,” Michelle said. “[For] three days, she was unresponsive due to the morphine that they gave her for pain before her procedure. One of those unresponsive days was Christmas Day, so we had a rough December.”
Jessica eventually returned home, but shortly after, her kidneys started failing even more. On Jan. 19, she was placed on dialysis. She started receiving treatment twice a week, and now she is treated three times a week.
On Aug. 21, she was sent to Tampa General Hospital where her case was presented before a medical board. They will deliberate and decide whether she will be eligible for a kidney transplant, though her chances, being a young child, are highly likely, her grandmother said. Within the next month, she is expected to have her kidneys removed to prepare for the transplant.
“If she is approved on the list, it would put her back on the list since Jan 19,” her grandmother said. “They try to have it so that kids are not on dialysis for more than 13 months. So, I feel we will be looking very soon for a transplant coming soon.
Michelle has had her plate and a half full during this ordeal. She was able to cut her work schedule down to four days a week, but she would be fortunate if she managed to get in 48
hours. When Jessica receives her transplant, it will require Michelle to be out of work for two to three months. As such, her family is seeking assistance from anyone willing to offer it. Also, anyone under 40 and healthy is welcome to be tested for a donor, as the family is currently required to go with a deceased donor.
This Local Elderly Couple Has Been Married For 70 Years and Counting
by James Coulter
Charles and Mary Venezia have been happily married for 70 years and counting. The only real big fight they ever had was over lasagna, but aside from that, their marriage has remained a happy one.
“We have been married for 70 years,” Charles said. “The marriage was excellent. I would do it again.”
Mary and Charles will be celebrating their 70th anniversary on September 27th. Together, this Haines City couple have raised a family of four children, nine grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.
They had known each other since Charles was 16 and Mary was 14. They first met at a skating rink where Mary caught Charles’ attention with a wink. They had lived in Massachusetts and had dated for one year before breaking up.
When he turned 17 in 1950, Charles joined the army, where he was stationed in Germany for three years. After a month overseas, he decided to write to Mary.
“What happened was I told her off, [but] she was real nice, and from that day on, I knew she was the one ” Charles explained. “After returning from Germany we were married”
Charles worked for TWA and The State of Massachusetts, while Mary stayed home with the children. When the children were older Mary worked in the Town of Saugus before retiring and moving to Florida, though she was predominately a homemaker with a lot of talent.
Upon moving to Florida, Charles and Mary would run a boutique and a concession stand at a flea market.
Charles loved the Disney Parks. He worked security there, while Mary worked at the gift shop at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. His favorite attraction was Soarin.
Their holiday tradition was to meet after work with the family at Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios for dinner, then watch Fantasmic, and then watch the Osborne Family Lights.
Their secret for remaining married these past seven decades has been to do almost everything together. They worked together. They traveled together. They even raised racehorses together.
“I had a racehorse that I bought and raised and the first race he won,” Charles said. “We had a full life. There was not a thing that we didn’t do or didn’t want to do.”
Together, they went on 15 cruises and traveled to California, Rome, Paris, Hawaii, and both Disneyland and Disney World.
Their favorite place to visit was Phoenix and Tombstone, Arizona. The only place they had not visited that they wished they could be Mt. Rushmore.
Their only big fight was over lasagna, but other than that, they never had any big fights, Charles said: “It has been ebb and flow. Never that many major fights. No thought of ever leaving this one.”
“There was a lot of loving and a lot of understanding,” Mary said. “I never walked out the door. He is also a joker, so I was always laughing, and he would often make our children laugh. The whole neighborhood would come for the show.”
Their daughter, Deborah, watched how her parents treated each other with respect and love for each other. Being raised within such a loving family has been nothing short of a true blessing, she said.
“We watch them how they treated each other with respect,” she said. “My father was always a hard worker. My mother was a homemaker. They were always there for us. They rose to the challenge, but they were never harsh. It was because they raised kids watching them, and that gave us good values.”
LAKELAND, FL (September 16, 2023) – On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at approximately 2:27 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of South Florida Avenue for a traffic crash involving a pedestrian. At the scene, officers located an unresponsive male who had been struck by a white Kia Soul. The Lakeland Police Department, Polk County Fire Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived to begin life-saving measures. The pedestrian was transported to Lakeland Regional Hospital with critical injuries. Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, the pedestrian succumbed to his injuries shortly before 3:00 p.m. this afternoon.
Based on information gathered at the scene, officers believe the Kia was traveling northbound on South Florida Avenue in the outside travel lane. At the same time, the pedestrian was attempting to cross the roadway eastbound and entered the path of the Kia and was struck. The driver of the Kia remained at the scene and was not injured. The pedestrian was wearing dark clothing, and the area was not marked for pedestrian traffic.
The roadway was shut down for approximately three hours to process the scene for the ongoing investigation. At this time, the deceased’s name is not being released pending the open investigation in accordance with Marsy’s Law.
Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to contact Traffic Crash Inspector Officer Emily Suttle at [email protected].
Osceola County, FL – On September 5, 2023, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Osceola deputies responded to a call for service in Kissimmee in reference to an indecent Lewd and Lascivious incident involving a minor. An investigation was conducted, and the 6-year-old female victim disclosed she had been sexually battered by a 56-year-old male on multiple occasions. The suspect was arrested on capital sexual battery charges, Lewd and Lascivious Molestation, and Showing obscene material to a minor.
Sheriff Marcos Lopez will provide remarks about this case.
WHAT:
Sheriff Marcos Lopez and Osceola Deputies Arrested Suspect for Capital Sexual Battery
WHEN:
Friday, September 15, 2023, 3:30 pm
WHERE:
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
2601 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744
Nicholas Ashton Aiken of Lakeland passed away Sunday, September 10, 2023, at Saint Amaro, Rehabilitation in Wauchula.
He was born December 24, 1980, in Avon Park. Nicholas was a self-employed hairdresser and was of the Baptist Faith. He loved Disney, the outdoors, and laughing. Nicholas enjoyed cooking, gardening, and Chuck Norris jokes. He loved being the center of attention and making everyone laugh.
Nicholas is survived by his father, Robert Aiken and wife Deborah; mother, Betty McGuire and husband Timothy; sister, Kristie Cochran and husband Kevin; niece, Heather Cochran; grandmother, Alberta Lassiter; and aunt, Jenifer Carter and husband Jonathan.
A visitation will be held from 10:30 a.m. until the funeral service at 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 18, 2023, at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Frostproof with Pastor Sam Haag officiating. Interment will follow at Silver Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Compassionatefriends.org.
Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested a Lakeland High School track coach following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old boy.
On Thursday, September 14, 2023, 40-year old Jarvis Young was taken into custody by PCSO detectives and charged with: Sexual Battery by Custodian/Victim between 12-18 (F1), Lewd & Lascivious by 24yr or Older with Victim 16 or 17 (F3), Abuse of a Child w/o Bodily Harm (F3), Interfere with Custody of Minor (F3), and HIV Infected Person Has Sex w/o Informing Partner (F3).
The investigation began on August 28th, after the victim, a student at Lakeland High School, told the School Resource Deputy about sexual contact initiated by Young. The victim elaborated in an interview that Young was giving the victim a massage, moved the victim’s shorts and touched the victim’s penis with his hand and then his lips while attempting to perform oral sex on the victim. The victim said he jumped up and stopped Young.
According to the victim, the incident occurred two days prior while the two were in a school building.
“Jarvis Young is a predator—he likes children in a way that no adult should, and he used his position of authority to take advantage of a child for his own illicit sexual gratification. He needs to be locked-up and never be allowed unsupervised near children again.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
In 2011, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office charged Young with conspiracy to commit sexual battery by a person in authority after he and a co-conspirator were accused of picking up two juveniles they were mentoring, and drove them to Orlando where the victims were sexually battered. The case was later No-Billed by the State Attorney’s Office due to the statute of limitations.
In 2017, another juvenile reported to the Lakeland Police Department that Young had touched his thigh and unzipped his pants before the juvenile ran away. There were no criminal charges in that case.
PCSO detectives learned that Young had travelled to Alabama while the case was being investigated, and upon his return he was arrested.
Detectives believe there is a possibility that there are additional victims of Jarvis Young who have not yet come forward, and urge them to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.
“I appreciate the work of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to investigate this matter, and take the necessary steps to protect students from further harm.
Our students and families should expect to be safe in the presence of school employees and coaches. The allegations against Jarvis Young are deeply disturbing. Although he was never convicted of any past incidents, I am extremely troubled that he was involved with our school system in any capacity.
PCPS will be conducting a thorough investigation into how Young was allowed to become a coach for Lakeland High. We also will be pulling a list and re-screening coaches who work with PCPS students, as well as other individuals who work with students in extracurricular programs. Furthermore, we intend to increase the frequency of our background checks and add extra measures to evaluate any past reports of inappropriate behavior.
PCPS will continue to cooperate fully with the Sheriff’s Office on this investigation. We encourage anyone with information about Jarvis Young to contact PCSO.
We will take a hard look at the circumstances that resulted in this individual working alongside students. I will do everything in my power to prevent this from happening again.” – Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid
According to Polk County Public Schools, Jarvis Young no longer has any involvement with PCPS. He became a volunteer coach in December 2020 and was paid a stipend.
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Initial Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
Sheriff Grady Judd will discuss details regarding the arrest of a Polk County high school track coach who has been arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for sexually battering a 16-year-old boy. This will take place at the PCSO Sheriff’s Operation Center at 1891 Jim Keene Blvd in Winter Haven, today (Sept 15th) at 1:00 pm.
Friday, September 29 is going to be a good day to have a sweet tooth at the Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center!
We will be serving up free scoops of ice cream at the Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center in Lake Wales on Friday, September 29, from 6-8p.m. Stop by the center for a free ice cream sundae and enjoy games, giveaways, and fun prizes!
Admission is free, but sundaes will be limited to 1 per person, while supplies last. Sundaes will be served alongside creation stations for kids to enjoy!
Plan to drop by? Stop by our event page and let us know: https://fb.me/e/1iQbFGPlw
📍 Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center 2226 Karen Street Lake Wales, FL 33898
Here is a unedited, but redacted excerpt of the arrest affidavit.
It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge/Polk Mugshot Of The Day does not rewrite these facts as some meanings or interpretations could be in error and change context. We hope readers appreciate being able to read the information and come to their own conclusions.:
“ On 9/11/23, at approximately 1600 hours, Detective Blackman #9186and I responded to REDACTED Tuscani Way in Winter Haven, FL 33880 in reference to assisting The Department of Children and Families. Upon arrival, we made contact with the DCF worker and he advised he had a court order to enter the residence.
DCF worker made contact at the residence and we stood by as he entered into the residence. While we were standing by, I asked Deanna Phillipsfor consent to enter her residence and she gave us verbal consent.
While inside of the residence, I made contact with another female by the name of Hope Wilde. I asked Hope where her bedroom was and she walked me to her temporary bedroom. Hope advised she just recently started sleeping inside of the room. I then asked Hope for consent to search her room and she gave me verbal consent.
During a search ofHope’s bedroom, I located ablack baggie with a green leafy substance on top of a small dresser. I collected and tested the black baggie with green leafy substance using an AP-4 Hemp Typification Test Kit, which yielded a blue result, indicating the presence of more than 1% delta-9 THC.
I asked Hope if she had a medical marijuana card and she stated no and she did not have a prescription for marijuana. See Detective Blackman’s report for further information.
I arrested Hope Wilde for possession of cannabis not more than 20grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.”
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Eugene Beltran Miranda, DOB: 3/25/49, of Kissimmee after an argument, over grass clippings, lead to one victim being run over by a truck and 6 more counts of attempted murder by gunfire.
Here is a unedited, but redacted excerpt of the arrest affidavit.
It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge does not rewrite these facts as some meanings or interpretations could be in error and change context. We hope readers appreciate being able to read the information and come to their own conclusions.:
“On 09/03/23, at approximately 1330 hours, Eugene Beltran Miranda approached REDACTED who cutting the lawn at the residence of REDACTED Cimarron Drive, Kissimmee, which is adjacent to his back yard.
Miranda did not like the grass cuttings were being blown on his property. A verbal argument between the two men occurred. Miranda returned to his residence and REDACTED finishing cutting the grass to the residence.
Miranda entered his 2006 Ford pickup truck with Florida license plate# LQHS18 parked in his driveway at his residence located at REDACTED Columbia Drive, Kissimmee and drove his vehicle to the next adjacent street where REDACTED pickup truck and utility trailer were parked in front of his residence located at REDACTED Cimarron Drive, Kissimmee.
Miranda intentionally and unlawfully drove his vehicle at REDACTED, striking REDACTED and driving over his leg as he was standing in the front yard of residence REDACTED Cimarron Drive. Miranda stopped his vehicle from hitting a mailbox and backed up his pickup truck. As this was happening, REDACTED stood up, ran to where his pickup truck and utility traller were parked in front of his residence. As REDACTED Jumped over the tongue section of the trailer, Miranda was accelerating his pickup truck attempting to hit REDACTED again with his pickup truck.
Miranda crashed his pickup truck into the victim’s white pickup truck and utility trailer. The crash disabled Miranda’s pickup truck and he was not able to move forward or back.
REDACTED retrieve a baseball bat from the bed of bis pickup truck and struck the windshield of Miranda’s pickup truck causing a section shatter. Miranda exited his pickup truck and fled to his residence retrieving his Ruger 9MM handgun. REDACTED struck the driver’s side window shattering it with his baseball bat. REDACTED retrieved his weed trimmer to continue finishing his job for his neighbor.
REDACTED had exited her residence observing her husband being ran over by Miranda’s pickup truck. Her three children REDACTED, REDACTED, & REDACTED were standing by the front entrance of the door. An unknown subject bicycling by the residence yelled to REDACTED a man was coming with a gun. REDACTED yelled for her husband REDACTED to return to the residence. At the same time, REDACTED (another victim) arrived at the residence and stood at the entrance way.
All three subjects, REDACTED, REDACTED and REDACTED provided sworn recorded statement stating they observed Miranda raise a handgun at them and began firing the handgun. REDACTED and REDACTED stated when they observed the gun raised they fled into their house grabbing their children as they entered and as they closed the door they heard gun fire. REDACTED and REDACTED stated once inside the residence they laid on the ground with their children and crawled to the back area of the residence. REDACTED stated he hide behind the front porch column and could hear the bullets passing him. REDACTED stated at one point he thought he was struck by the bullet but realized it was the debris from the house which had landed on his head and shoulder area.
Miranda discharged his firearm numerous times at the front entrance to the residence of REDACTED Cimarron drive.
PCSO Crime scene located 8 strikes to the front entrance area. Three bullet projectiles struck the front door entering the residence. Two bullet projectiles struck the column which REDACTED was hiding behind and three bulletin projectiles struck around the front door.
According to REDACTED, REDACTED and REDACTED stated they have had no prior issues or contact with Mirands prior to this incident.
Post Miranda, Eugene Miranda stated he only speaks Spanish and with the assistance of Deputy Hernandez. #9720 I conducted an interview. Miranda admitted to confronting REDACTED about grass cuttings being blown onte his property. Miranda stated during this confrontation with REDACTED, REDACTED struck him with weed trimmer. Miranda stated he then returmed to his house, entered his pickup truck and drove his pickup track to where REDACTED’s pickup truck and trailer were parked. Miranda stated he wanted to photograph the pickup truck and as he did this, REDACTED struck his truck with a baseball bat. Miranda stated this put him in fear so he struck REDACTED with his truck. Miranda stated he didn’t ram his pickup truck into the trailer or pickup.
Miranda stated he jumped out of his truck as it was driving towards them. Miranda stated as he was returning to his house he overheard someone say burn his truck. Miranda stated this caused him to decide to retrieve his handgun and return to the pickup truck. Miranda stated when he returned he pointed his handgun in the air and fired his handgun In order to scare the people at the house. Miranda admitted prior to this day he has had no dealings or interation with the victims.
Eugenes Beltran Miranda unlawfully and intentionally attempted to commit homicide (no weapon) by driving his vehicle at REDACTED, striking REDACTED and driving over him. This act was done against the victim’s will and placed the victim in fear of death. Miranda furthermore accelerated his vehicle at REDACTED and crashed into REDACTED pickup truck and utility trailer which he used as a barrier to protect himself from being struck.
Eugene Beltran Miranda unlawfully and intentionally discharged his Ruger 9mm handgun eight (8) times at six Individuals: REDACTED who all were standing in the residence entrance way and porch. This act was done against the victim’s will and placed all the adult victims in fear of death for themselves and their children.
The physical evidence shows the bullets were not discharged in the sky as described by Miranda but two struck the column where REDACTED was standing behind, three struck the front door entering the residence where REDACTED, REDACTED and their three children had retreated into the residence. Three bullets struck in the area of the front door. This act was attempted to commit homicide with a firearm.
Based on my investigation, violated Florida State Statue 782.04 Attempt to commit Homicide (no weapon)(1 count), 782.04 Attempt to commit Homicide (firearm)(6 counts) and 790.19 Shooting Deadly missile into occupied residence (8 counts),
